Maya Melts In Political Heat

From mercurial to mellow, BSP leader and Chief Minister Mayawati has come a long way in the last three years. Gone are the days of public admonishment of bureaucrats and police officers, spot transfers and postings, district magistrates and senior police officials being asked to go Dalit huts, and party office-bearers, MPs, MLAs and even ministers being made to sit on the floor before her. It's a new and improved Mayawati running Uttar Pradesh in 2010. In the last two years, barring one or two cases, she has not suspended an IAS or IPS officer. "She has changed a lot in dealing with senior officers. First of all, she has assigned this role to her trusted man, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh, who is acting as a cushion between her and the bureaucracy," says a senior IAS officer.

Mayawati meets government officials

But Mayawati hasn't relaxed her grip on the state machinery; her latest persona is old iron fist in new velvet glove. Take, for instance, the peace after the Ayodhya verdict. Senior officers were on notice that no disturbance would be tolerated. It worked. Another glimpse of the disciplinarian Mayawati came when she sent agriculture production commissioner Anis Ansari on leave after a fashion show at his official residence.

The Maya terror may have gone, but the unease lingers. The state was shocked when senior IAS officer Harminder Raj Singh committed suicide and when Balwinder Kumar, principal secretary (revenue), was first suspended and then quietly reinstated. In 2007, the same Kumar was very dear to the Mayawati government until the chief minister locked horns with Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the rail coach factory at Rae Bareli. Kumar came in the crosshairs because his department had transferred land to the Railways for the project.

But Mayawati has begun to be lenient too. Two senior IAS officers-Shishir Pridayarshi and Atul Baghai-who had been out of the country for the last 15 years without proper sanctioned leave or information are still on the rolls of the government despite the fact that they are working for NGOs. When the government sought explanations last week, they opted for voluntary retirement. Senior IAS officers Mahesh Gupta (chargesheeted by the CBI in an appointment scandal) and Chanchal Kumar Tewari (named in an industrial scandal) have also been fortunate enough to retain their positions.

Retired IAS officer S.N. Shukla, who has launched a crusade of sorts on service matters through his organisation Lok Prahri, told India Today: "Mayawati is avoiding arbitrary suspension. She has mellowed down a lot perhaps with an eye on the coming Assembly elections as she does not want to annoy the officers. She wants to avoid embarrassment in court and before the Union Government."

Fawning officers are coming in for criticism now. Senior officials were ridiculed two years ago on Mayawati's birthday when they lined up with bouquets to wish her, the loudest jeers reserved for then DGP Vikram Singh who fed Mayawati a piece of cake. Maya's new theme is working magic in the BSP too: there has been no rebellion or dissent, no mean feat considering she has shifted her ideological focus from Bahujan Samaj to Sarva Samaj. No more are there allegations of false cases under the infamous Dalit Act; it is applied in heinous cases only. There's no grabbing of public land by Dalit groups in the name of Ambedkar statues. Now, one has to seek permission of the chief minister's office to install statues.

Mayawati is also monitoring the setting up of a university named after a late Brahmin social worker and has sanctioned over Rs 200 crore and 200 acres in Lucknow for a university for the disabled, named after late Shakuntala Devi Mishra, mother of the BSP's Brahmin face, Satish Chandra Mishra.

The Maya makeover seems complete but its translation into votes remains untested.

The New Avatar

THEN Made ministers and party members sit on the floorNOW Provides chairs for them

THEN Officers queued up to meet herNOW Avoids meeting them

THEN Would suspend officers at her whim and fancyNOW Happens only rarely now

THEN Would hardly meet officers and passed diktats through her aideNOW Consults her officers

THEN Dropped ministers from her Cabinet for poor performanceNOW Gives them stern warnings

THEN Talked only about Bahujan Samaj and its welfareNOW Sarva Samaj is the new mantra

THEN Atrocities conducted in the name of the Dalit Act raised a hue and cry in the stateNOW The Dalit Act is being applied in heinous crimes only

THEN Grabbing of public land was common in the name of installing Ambedkar statuesNOW Not a single such incident has occurred in the last three years. Prior permission has to be taken from Mayawati's office to install a statue.

THEN Numerous projects were launched in the name of Dalit iconsNOW A university named after a Brahmin social worker in the works

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